Corey is my best friend, but I had the opportunity to spend a morning with my girl BFF last week. She’s the one who shares my disinterest in girly things like shopping and jewelry. The one who has navigated boy mom world with me from day one. The one I call when my kiddos do something amazing like backflip off a picnic table. And the one I call when this job of “momming” is knocking the wind out of me. She’s a gift. I’ve even shown her my bare chest. I know that sounds so weird and wrong, but…

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Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. I had a friend years ago whose relationship with her mother was strained. They talked regularly. And though they honestly loved each other, it was not uncommon for their conversations to end in utter frustration. You see, they loved each other, but they didn’t really like each other. One expected too much, the other couldn’t let go of the past. I have lost touch with that friend and don’t know where her relationship with her mother stands today, but I…

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Proverbs 22:6 Train a child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not part from it. Whew! That verse puts a tremendous amount of pressure on us if we read it to mean that if we raise our kids right, they will become followers of Christ. Putting the full responsibility of our children’s faith on our own shoulders will surely lead to feelings of failure when one of them strays. I love the following explanation of Proverbs 22:6 from Captivating by John and Stasi Elderidge. This verse is not a promise about faith….

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Proverbs 21:9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. When my husband’s little sister asked him to read scripture at her wedding, she gave him free reign to choose whatever passage he wanted and opened the door for his crazy shenanigans. Corey stood solemnly in front of the wedding guests and read Proverbs 21:19. “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.” After the laughter subsided, he flipped to the New Testament and read a much more appropriate wedding passage. It’s…

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Proverbs 19:2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Zeal is a good thing. To be enthusiastic and passionate about a goal is a great first step. But if zeal is all we have, we won’t get far. After I watched Florence Griffith Joyner break world track records in Seoul in 1988, my 12-year-old self was going to follow in her footsteps. I would be a runner, and I would run in the Olympics (forget that those Olympics sprinters are not white girls.) So I went out of for track…

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Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. “He’s 14, and he’s taken to grunting.” Yep, those words came out of my husband’s mouth on a recent double-date, and they are oh so accurate. It is amazing how much can be said in a grunt. There’s the “yes” grunt, the “no” grunt, the “I’m so tired” grunt, the “I don’t care” grunt. I could go on, but you moms out there with teen boys probably know exactly what I’m talking about. Grunting is not my preferred form of…

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Proverbs 17:9 He who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. Without forgiveness friendships become superficial. They become catty. They can even fall completely apart. When I began dating Corey, I kind of dropped the ball on a friendship with a close friend. Where I used to eat with Rachel at our kitchen table, I now would head over to Corey’s apartment or go out to eat with him. My study dates with Rach became my study dates with Corey. And all the movie nights Rach and I used to have? Well, now I…

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Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. Our family enjoys backpacking together. Following a trail in the woods away from regular life gives us quality uninterrupted family time, great exercise and an appreciation for all the modern conveniences we enjoy in our day-to-day. You know, like beds and toilets. 🙂 But it is important to stay on the trail. Veering off can lead to injury and/or getting lost. A couple years ago, one of our boys decided to walk along the rocks in a river. Not a big…

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(My Boy Mom Monday devos came to a halt in January because, well, cancer. I’m still committed to making my way through the Proverbs in prayer for my boys, and now that cancer is no longer occupying 100% of my time and energy, I’m ready to get back to it. I’d love for you to join me. Our boys need praying mamas.) Proverbs 15:31 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. During my freshman year of college, I made a decision that I knew was contrary to what God wanted for me. I tried to…

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January 6th was my deadline for my contribution to the TCW devotional book, Sanctuary For My Soul. January 9th I found a lump in my breast. January 20th I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My devotion quickly forgotten, (along with pretty much every other non-essential part of my life), I was shoved into a daily struggle to trust in God’s plan for me. I didn’t doubt God’s goodness or love for me on January 9 or January 20. But I didn’t like where he was taking me. (That’s an understatement by the way.) Over the past few months I have felt…